Life in Jerusalem: I Love Mondays

****UPDATE: less than an hour after originally posting this a siren went off in Jerusalem. Jason and I were both at our schools and took shelter until the clear was given. We're safe back to learning and studying.****

Hi Everyone!

Gavi here, typing away from home while on a lunch break between classes.

I wanted to tell you all about my yesterday.

Mondays have proved to be some of my favorite days ever since I dropped my Monday afternoon classes at the Yeshiva. Don't get me wrong. I love my classes there and the community but an afternoon once a week to be in the city has been a true blessing. 

Last week, after ulpan (my hebrew immersion class which goes from 8:30am-12:30pm) I walked in the rain to pay our electricity bill at the post office and then to the Shuk to do some veggie shopping. It was really nice to be out and about and in the Jerusalem rain (which is seen as a blessing in this dry region). And thanks to my warm raincoat (thanks Remy!) being out during the day was actually pretty fun.

This Monday turned out to be one of my favorite days in Jerusalem so far.

After ulpan I made my way to the shuk. One of the zippers on my boots and broken and I was off to find a cobbler. 

I found a nice Russian cobbler on Agripas Street who agreed to fix the zipper while I waited in his tiny below street level shop. We spoke (all in Hebrew!) about the shoe, my studies, and how I like  living in Jerusalem. By the end of the conversation I had my boot all fixed and many good wishes from my cobbler friend - who told me to come back when the other boot gave out (it did, later that night! how did he know? I hadn't even taken it off in the store!)

After leaving the cobbler I headed up to the shuk to buy some fruits. I made a few laps around - knowing I wasn't in a rush to get to class and with lots of time before I had to be down in the German colony for an errand. I was looking at the clementines and trying to find the best price/sweetness ratio. Just as I was about to put a clementine from one stand in a bag for 5NIS per kilo the guy in a stand across the street announced his clementines were now only 3.5NIS per kilo! Patience for the win! It is the little things that bring me the most joy.

So, with clementines and bananas in hand I headed the long way home past my favorite 15NIS shwarma spot. On my way in I ran into my friend Lisa M. who is also studying at my ulpan and the Conservative Yeshiva who was having lunch with her husband. We chatted for a bit about the wonders of cheap kosher meat wrapped in yummy starch and said goodbye as I went inside to order. I was going to sit outside and eat my lunch but in the last moment I asked the guy behind the counter to wrap up the meal to go (in Hebrew AGAIN!)

As I walked through a busy intersection I saw a familiar face. I had run into Revital Nutkis! My cousin's wife and beautiful member of the Nutkis family in Elazar. She had come into the city to do a little shopping. And thanks to my lack of afternoon classes and being in the right place at the right time we were able to walk around a bit and stop for some coffee and cake. We talked for an hour (mostly all in Hebrew!) about the family and her adorable son and my life in Jerusalem and plans for when we return to the states. After coffee she headed back to Elazar and I ran home to drop off my things before walking down the German Colony to run a few errands. By 5:00pm I had walked back up to the city center with my wonderful husband who had spent the day studying hard at school to buy him a new pair of sandals before our trip down to the Negev/Eilat starting tomorrow with HUC (yes, as of now, the trip is still on).

Over the course of the day I walked about 5.5 miles, and felt like I had accomplished a lot. I got to talk to my parents, see family, friends, speak lots of semi coherent Hebrew, and got to spend some quality time with my husband. The whole day I felt energized. I feel like I really live here. I have a life here. 

This is my home.

I hope this post finds you all well and happy and safe. Jason and I won't have much internet access in the coming days due to our upcoming 4 day trip with HUC. So don't worry if you don't see any posts from us. We're just living our lives here and having fun. 

If you want to stay up-to-date with the situation in Israel (which we pray will be resolved with each new hour) try checking out this live blog which covers all the developments, www.timesofisrael.com. It is one of the sites that Jason and I have been using to stay informed as possible, although there are many others.

Sending warm wishes, hopes for many happy Mondays to come, and prayers for everyone in this world to be able to live their lives in peace and without fear,

Gavi